WASHINGTON — The U.S. Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) program now plans to launch two satellites in 2016 — the long-planned JPSS-1 and a smaller spacecraft with a cache of at least three instruments, an official with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said Aug. 27.

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Dan Leone is the NASA reporter for SpaceNews, where he also covers other civilian-run U.S. government space programs and a growing number of entrepreneurial space companies. He joined SpaceNews in 2011.Dan earned a bachelor's degree in public communications...